The present invention comprises a method for displaying and/or outputting a system-initiated help for operating a device allocated to a vehicle, and a correspondingly configured device allocated to a vehicle.
In modern vehicles (motor vehicles), a number of devices is often provided at which and/or for which user inputs can be carried out. In this context, the devices can not only be activated or deactivated, i.e. switched on and off, but often adjustments can also be carried out, selections made or inputs performed.
Examples of such devices in vehicles are a satellite-based navigation system, a multimedia installation, an automobile telephone system or a device for Internet access integrated in a vehicle.
The user inputs for such devices can be effected in various ways, an input by using a rotary/pressure adjuster, joystick or one or a plurality of keys currently probably representing the procedure used most frequently. In addition, further input options are known such as, for example, by using a touch pad or a touch-sensitive display facility (screen) or by voice input. In all cases, the adjustments/selections/inputs made can be displayed on a display facility (screen, head-up display).
In the devices mentioned above, a sequence of characters (letters, numbers, spaces, etc.) and/or symbols can or must be selected or input for operation, for example when inputting the destination for a satellite-based navigation system, for inputting a new contact person into the or selecting a known contact person from the storage device of an automobile telephone system, when operating a device for mobile Internet access, etc.
EP 0 905 662 A2 describes an input system at least for place and/or street names with an input arrangement with a data source arrangement containing at least one place and/or street list and with a control arrangement which is provided for searching place or street names input via the input arrangement in a place or street list of the data source arrangement. To simplify the input of place or street names, the data source arrangement contains, apart from a first place and/or street list with alphabetically sorted place and/or street names, at least one second place and/or street list with place and/or street names, sorted in accordance with a frequency criterion. Voice inputs are forwarded to the control arrangement from a voice input system of the input arrangement. The control arrangement is then provided for a sequential search of a place or street name, input verbally, from the beginning of the second place or street list.
EP 1 120 633 A2 proposes a method for inputting information including at least one character of an alphabet into an electric device wherein, after inputting a character of the alphabet, the character, or in the case where one or several characters have already been input before the character input, the chain of characters formed from the characters input previously and last is compared with information from a comparative set of information and, in the case of correspondence of the character with the first character of an information item of the comparison set or in the case of correspondence of the character string with the beginning of an information item of the comparison set, this information is offered as information to be input.
DE 10 2005 018 467 A1 has a method for the selection of a destination in a navigation system as a subject matter in which each destination from a totality of all destinations is defined by destination parameters and a set of possible destinations is restricted incrementally from the totality of all destinations by inputting individual characters for in each case one destination parameter. It is provided that, when inputting the characters, it possible to change from one destination parameter to inputting a character for another destination parameter.
DE 10 2007 023 313 A1 describes a display facility and a method for operating an electronic display facility for displaying a plurality of characters of a set of characters, particularly for displaying letters and/or numbers. At least one character of the set of characters can be selected by operating a selection device and selected for further processing by operating a selection device. The characters are then arranged on a curved arc line and displayed.
And DE 10 2008 049 636 A1 describes a method for inputting a destination for a navigation system. The method comprises detecting a character string which is input by a user as part of a designation of the destination and determining a set of destination designations in dependence on the character string detected. The set of destination designations is determined by selecting from a pool of destination designations those which comprise the character string. The method also comprises displaying the particular set of destination designations on a display unit for the user. Finally, a selection, made by the user, of a destination designation from the displayed set of destination designations is acquired.